What Do You Get When you mix...

Four women ages 62-52 in one room?

This morning was cold--I guess the temp was about 45 degrees.  It was windy and cloudy as we left Pontevedra on our journey to Caldas De Reis.  Before we left Pontevedra we had our toast and coffee at a place known for it´s hot chocolate.  This is true hot chocolate--something like Hershey´s chocolate sauce heated in a cup.  We were on a caffeine high as we set off!  We had 14.5 miles to walk this morning.  It turned out to be a pleasant walk once we got out of the city.  In two hours we had covered about 7 miles (half of our distance) when we stopped at a cafe for some cafe con leche.  It is always clear to see who loves their jobs and who doesn´t.  This morning the bar maid clearly did not like her job.  She gave me my cafe con leche in a cup that had lipstick on it and once I discovered that I had already stirred the sugar in with a spoon that had animal fur on it.  Needless to say that ruined the morning cafe for me!

We traveled along dirt roads surrounded by agriculture and animals.  One house had a barn affixed to it (a common site in rural towns in Europe).  The barn had two horses, a goat, and a load of chickens.  Can you imagine the smell in the summer?  We walked up hill all morning.  With it being a gradual climb it wasn´t difficult.  We passed several fonts (fountains of water coming out of the ground) where you could refill your water bottle if necessary.  Our surprise came as we rounded a corner to see a woman herding her sheep the new fangled way with her car!  Apparently the sheep understand this method as they went into the pen she was aiming them for.  A little further up the road we met a pack of dogs.  They were just hanging around not really bothering anyone.  They were really glad to see us.  There was one in particular that looked like it had a little border collie in it and he was the most beautiful color of medium auburn.  He was the friendlist one and came along on our trip with us for a little while. 

We walked through grape arbors heavy with grapes.  The bunches hanging down were so tempting for us to pick and eat--we refrained.  The air was heavy with the smell of grapes.

We made it to Caldas de Reis in a little over five hours.  This is a lovely little town.  The church sits on a square with huge palm trees in the front.  It is just beautiful.  We are staying at a little pension with an on suite bathroom--what a treat!  So far we´ve been locked in the pension as you need a key to get out the inner door and a key to get in the outer doors.  I´ve never been locked in a hotel before!  We did manage to get out and did manage to get back in a little later.  Not really being able to speak the Spain spanish is proving to be a challenge.  I find it very interesting that when we say "Do you speak english?" in our best spanish and they say "No", they keep on speaking to us in Spanish like they figure we will get what they are saying if they keep talking to us!  Not always the case.  We often resort to sign language which seems to be universal as it generally works to get the point across.

There are six in our camino pack.  One married couple and four single women.  Unless we are staying in an albuergue the four women sleep in the same room and the married couple sleep in their own room.  So what do you get when you mix four women ages 62-52 in one room?  A slumber party every night!  It seems like we turn from mature women into teenagers once again when we share a room.  We´ve had such fun together!  I did find out today that these women are truly my friends because when I told them I did see a dead snake this morning they confessed that they had seen dead snakes earlier in the week but knew I would worry if I knew so they kept the news to themselves.  I carry my pink snake totem with me.  It seems to be working.

We are only two days out from Santiago.  40 kilometers (24 miles)--it seems like Oporto where we started 10 days ago is a million miles away.  Day after tomorrow we will be in Santiago at the end of our journey.  WOW!

Sending love...